Children with disabilities
Building a world fit for every child
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More than one in ten people alive today have some form of disability, whether present at birth or acquired later in life. For the hundreds of millions of them who are kids, barriers to daily life interrupt some of the most important parts of development – their ability to play, learn and make friends.
Living with a disability means having a long-term physical, mental or sensory impairment that, in interaction with the environment, limits someone's participation in society on an equal basis with others.
These limitations aren't inevitable. UNICEF helps build communities that accommodate and include kids with disabilities by addressing the physical and attitudinal obstacles that rise in their way.
What we do
Children with disabilities often work hard to fit themselves to a world not built for them. We want to change this.
UNICEF recognizes disability as something that arises from unaccommodating environments and attitudes, so we create inclusive services and assistive technologies that ensure kids with a range of disabilities have equitable opportunities to learn and grow.
With governments, UNICEF advocates for disability-inclusive policies and legislations, along with adequate investments to put them in place. We also help strengthen the capacities of frontline workers, support parents, amass evidence for change, and engage communities to address stigma and discrimination. Explore our work across these key areas:
Programme overview
Children with disabilities face persistent barriers to education stemming from discrimination, stigma and the routine failure of policymakers to address exclusion in school. As a result, they're among the most likely kids to be out of school, and are often placed in segregated schooling. Many miss out on opportunities to learn and develop skills for employment and independent living. UNICEF supports inclusive education as the most effective way for all children to acquire the knowledge and life skills we all need to thrive.
Children with disabilities often have limited access to healthcare and nutrition. As a result, they tend to experience poorer physical and mental health outcomes than their peers. UNICEF works to ensure that kids with disabilities, along with their families, can access disability-inclusive health services, nutritional support and information in their communities.
Children with disabilities are more likely than their peers to have limited access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities. UNICEF works in over 100 countries to help provide access to clean water and reliable sanitation, and to promote basic hygiene practices that keep children safe from infectious disease. In schools and health centres, we install water pumps and sanitation facilities designed to be accessible for children living with a range of disabilities.
Children with disabilities face heightened risks of violence, abuse and neglect compared to their peers. They’re also more likely to be institutionalized. UNICEF works to make child protection systems inclusive and accessible, including in humanitarian crises, so that children with disabilities are protected from harm.
Children with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than their peers, owing to the costs associated with having a disability, limited access to education and other essential services, and inadequate social protection. UNICEF works to make social protection systems and social spending responsive to disability so that children and their families receive services that help break the link between disability and poverty.
Children with disabilities are among the most marginalized in communities affected by humanitarian emergencies, compounding the barriers they already face. UNICEF works to ensure that people with disabilities are represented in humanitarian decision-making, and that all crisis-affected children with disabilities have safe access to humanitarian assistance, along with opportunities to participate in emergency response, recovery and rebuilding efforts.